Dunham, who lives at 106 Henry St. in Herkimer, said her basement filled the first time June 28 and again July 2.

“I have to replace everything. I’m out of pocket for everything,” she said. “If it happens again, we definitely aren’t coming back.”

Dunham doesn’t have flood insurance because she’s not in a flood plain zone that requires it. And homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover flooding. So she’s banking on Federal Emergency Management Agency aid, like many others in the Mohawk Valley.

Relief is hard to find for private individuals, said Greg Raab, manager of integrated services at Adjusters International in Utica. There’s just not much out there, he said.

“It’s going to be a long haul for local residents,” he said.

Most of those affected by the recent flooding don’t have flood insurance policies, Raab said.

“They’re hard to get, and they’re expensive,” he said.

While there has been no official word on whether FEMA aid will be available to private individuals or public property, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has expressed concern over the possibility of not receiving assistance in the 15 counties — which include Herkimer and Oneida — affected by the recent bouts of heavy rain.

State could help

So, what, if any relief, could individuals receive?

If the federal government doesn’t step in, Cuomo said the state will.

“Some of these homes … there’s no way for them to put their lives back together,” he said. “We’ll make sure they’re not alone.”

It’s unknown what exactly will be done.

Raab said calculating the private assistance threshold is complicated, but even if the region does receive federal assistance, “it’s not a floodgate of funds into the household.”

Raab suggested homeowners get an official copy of their full insurance policy and discuss their options with an expert.

“Most homeowners aren’t aware if they have sump-pump failure or water backup endorsement, and/or to what extent,” he said.

Mohawk resident Pam Gydesen said that while she lost everything in the basement, she had a clause in her homeowner’s insurance that covered sump-pump back-up, so she’ll be getting $5,000.

“We do have a sump pump in there and it did come up through that hole,” she said. “I lucked out. Nobody else on my street has that coverage.”

Raab warned, however, that while add-ons are fairly common they typically have caps between $2,500 and $5,000.